The Fruit Of The Righteous Is A Tree Of Life
The Divine Readings – John 15:1-5; John 12:47; Proverbs 11:30
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.
Lectio Divina Prayer
Gracious Heavenly Father, how wonderful is the knowledge that You are actively tending to us Your branches as we abide in the Vine, Your Son. Your greatest desire for our lives, the very purpose for which you called us and sent us to the world, is for us to be fruitful and multiply. We were grafted into the Vine through the power of Your Word, the gospel of our salvation, the day we believed and put our trust in your Son, Jesus, the Christ.
Father, Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, came into the world, not to judge the world, but to save it. It was Your great love for the world, O Father, that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For Father, You did not send Your Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Those who do not believe the Gospel will then be judged by Your Holy Law, and in accordance with their hard and impenitent heart they are treasuring up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
O LORD, heavenly vinedresser, so perfect is Your work of tending to us as we abide in Christ, that we who were once dead in our trespasses and sins, you have made alive together with Christ that we might be a tree of life to those to whom you send us. How marvelous is that knowledge! The fruit of the righteous is the salvation of souls.
Abba Father! Grant us wisdom to be witnesses of Your salvation and faithful labors in the vineyard of the LORD until the day our LORD returns!
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
